Digital marketing certification in New Zealand.Job-ready in 11 weeks,not 12 months.
One-day workshops and 11-week certifications in SEO, Google Ads, social media, AI marketing and UX design, for NZ SMEs and corporate teams. Learn online or in person in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Tauranga, with one-to-one mentoring from a New Zealand expert who reviews your real work.
1,000+ students and business owners trained since 2016Including teams fromAir New Zealand · ANZCO Foods · Auckland Council · MBIE · University of Auckland · AUT
From our students
“With the ongoing support and weekly cloud meetings, I was able to complete this course with ease while working full time.”
Harrison MudgwayNew Zealand MTB National
“After 3 months of studying the digital marketing course every night (after putting the children to bed), I am so excited that I passed the exam and become a Certified Digital Marketing Expert.”
Ying WatsonStakeholder Manager
“I was looking for something where I can study online with mentor support at the same time working full time… IDNZ is offering both so I decided to go with IDNZ.”
Rohan SatghareRetail Sales & Operation
“The course challenged me to think to a more human-centered design, by learning the agile way with a real project. Thank you so much to my mentor Seann Lautner, who was incredibly patient.”
Irene FortoulUX/UI and Graphic Designer
Why learn with IDNZ
Immediate
Get results in a day
No fluff. No weeks of theory. Walk away with live campaigns running, analytics configured, and skills you'll use tomorrow morning.
Personal
One-to-one business & marketing mentoring
Work directly with NZ-based industry experts who tailor every session to your business goals, skill level and real marketing challenges.
Current
AI & agile marketing
Close the AI skills gap. Learn ChatGPT for marketing, workflow automation, GA4, HubSpot, and the hard skills NZ employers want right now.
Hands-on
Interactive learning
Learn by doing, not watching slides. Real campaigns, real tools, hands-on exercises you apply straight away.
Flexible
Study 24/7, anywhere
Access your online learning portal any time. Complete modules at your own pace with unlimited access to course materials.
Ongoing
Support after you finish
Ongoing support across NZ to help you land your first marketing role, then do it with confidence.
Teams
Corporate training
Upskill whole marketing teams with on-site training in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton or Tauranga, built around your business.
Empowering the next generation to shape what’s next.
Our recent learners
Pick your path
Digital marketing training for business owners, career changers and teams.
Tell us where you’re starting from and we’ll show you the right course. Every path comes with a New Zealand-based mentor.
For business owners
Marketing training for small business owners
Learn the marketing your business needs, from Google Ads and SEO to social media and email, and use it on your own business while you learn. Eligible New Zealand businesses can have up to 50% of the cost covered through MCDF funding.
11 modules in 11 weeks, each one applied to your own business, with unlimited one-to-one mentoring and coaching in business, branding and advertising.
View the CADME certification →
For upskilling and career changers
Digital marketing and UX certifications in New Zealand
Get certified in 11 weeks while you keep working. Every 11-week certification includes unlimited one-to-one mentoring and a real internship, so you finish with the skills and the work experience employers look for.
Train your whole team at once, on your own brand, channels and campaigns. Masterclasses and certifications can be set up for your organisation and are quoted per team.
How IDNZ works · Mentoring, coaching and business guidance
More than a course. A proven system to grow your career and your business.
The Certified Agile Digital Marketing Expert (CADME) teaches 11 modules in 11 weeks. Around it sits the part that makes the difference: unlimited one-to-one mentoring, coaching in business, branding and advertising, and a real internship. We’ve refined the system since 2016 with more than 1,000 students and business owners.
1,000+students and business owners trained since 2016
86%of graduates advance their career within 12 months (IDNZ graduate survey)
01Learn
11 modules, one a week
Each week covers one part of digital marketing, from SEO and Google Ads to content, social media, email, analytics, strategy and AI marketing. You learn it and use it the same week, in short agile sprints that fit around a job or a business.
Agile sprints built for working people
Business owners use their own business as the case study
AI marketing built into the course
02Apply
Unlimited one-to-one mentoring
You’re paired with a New Zealand-based mentor with more than a decade of experience marketing in NZ. Book as many one-to-one sessions as you need during the 11 weeks. Bring your campaigns, your work or your business, and get specific feedback on what to change.
Unlimited sessions during the 11 weeks
Feedback on your real work and campaigns
Mentors who know NZ audiences and budgets
03Grow
Coaching, a real internship and support after you graduate
Alongside the marketing, you’re coached in business, branding and advertising, so you can make the case for your ideas and grow the business behind them. Then you put it to work in a real digital marketing internship, with support after you graduate.
Business, branding and advertising coaching
A real internship in digital marketing
Post-graduation support
Made in Aotearoa New Zealand
Built for Kiwi marketers. Not borrowed from overseas.
Many online marketing courses sold here were built overseas, for overseas markets. IDNZ is built in New Zealand, for New Zealand businesses, by New Zealand-based practitioners. Your tutors and mentors have spent more than a decade marketing in NZ. They know local audiences, ad budgets and the job market, so the examples, feedback and connections you get fit the market you’ll actually work in.
NZ
Tutors and mentors based in New Zealand
10+
Years of mentor experience marketing in NZ
2016
Training New Zealand marketers and business owners since
1:1
Unlimited mentoring, with your own business as the case study
It depends on your goal. If you want job-ready skills quickly while you keep working, IDNZ’s Certified Agile Digital Marketing Expert (CADME) covers SEO, Google Ads, social media, content, email, analytics, strategy and AI marketing in 11 weeks, with unlimited one-to-one mentoring and a real internship. If you need a formal qualification or a student loan, a one-year NZQA diploma may suit you better. IDNZ’s comparison page sets out the differences.
Is there a recognised digital marketing certification in NZ?
Yes. CADME is an industry certification from the Institute of Digital Marketing New Zealand, which has trained more than 1,000 students and business owners since 2016. It isn’t an NZQA qualification. It is built around the skills employers hire for: in the Hays 2025 Skills Report, 86% of hiring managers in Australia and New Zealand said they were turning to skills-based hiring.
How long does the IDNZ digital marketing course take?
11 weeks. CADME has 11 modules, one a week, run as short agile sprints so it fits around a job or a business. A real digital marketing internship and post-graduation support follow.
How does mentoring work at IDNZ?
Every CADME student gets unlimited one-to-one mentoring sessions during the 11 weeks with a New Zealand-based mentor who has more than a decade of marketing experience in NZ. You bring your real work, campaigns or business, and your mentor gives you specific feedback. You’re also coached in business, branding and advertising.
Are IDNZ’s tutors and mentors based in New Zealand?
Yes. IDNZ is built in New Zealand for New Zealand businesses. Its tutors and mentors are NZ-based practitioners with more than a decade of experience marketing in New Zealand, so they know local audiences, ad budgets and the NZ job market.
Can I use my own business as the case study?
Yes. Business owners use their own business as the case study for each module, so they apply what they learn to it from the first week, with their mentor’s feedback.
Grow your career, or the business you already have.
$4,789 + GST, locked in for 2026 and 2027. Up to 50% of the cost covered through MCDF for eligible businesses, or spread over 12 months with Splitit.
Fiona was working full time in Queenstown on a gap year. The only marketing she knew was what influencers did on Instagram. She enrolled in CADME, completed three rounds of IDNZ internships (a Kiwi real estate company, then two more as she moved to Australia) and walked into every interview with current, active work experience on her CV. Today she is Marketing Manager at BMS, an Australian-owned assistive technology business supporting occupational therapists and their clients across Queensland and New South Wales.
“Every time I reached out about my struggle for employment, the readiness to help — well after I had graduated — will always stay with me. I would not have secured my current role if it hadn’t been for those internships.”
Sarah spent 12 years as a senior Executive Assistant at ANZCO Foods before stepping into a communications and digital marketing role, with no formal digital grounding, just drive and a willingness to learn fast. She studied CADME online, around a full-time job and three children at home. Within months she was leading a project team with a new title: Communications Manager. Today she brings together corporate communications, digital marketing, graphic design, web design and event management at one of New Zealand’s largest food manufacturers, where she has spent nearly 20 years building her career.
“Our organisation is now benefitting from me having fresh, up-to-date IP which I can put into practice daily.”
Porirua City Council & Department of Conservation · NZ
Cici works across Porirua City Council and the Department of Conservation, organisations where marketing has to be credible, data-informed and aligned to public outcomes. She joined the one-day Email Marketing Strategy masterclass looking for practical tools to apply straight away. She found a session built around real strategy development and a mentor who adapted to the room, and left with a framework ready to use the same week.
“Practical and hands-on — Sai shared tools and resources to help guide the development of an email marketing strategy, and went beyond in offering additional support.”
Sophie arrived mid-honours degree with a leather bag business idea that existed mostly in her head. No brand, no product range, just creative instinct with no structure around it. Through mentoring she built user personas, competitor analysis, a brand mission, core values and a future vision, with every session documented and ready to pick back up the moment she finished her degree.
“Don’t be afraid even if you feel scattered and lost. With the guidance in the program your idea will eventuate into something clear, tangible and uniquely your own.”
With 15+ years leading design across major NZ media organisations, from TVNZ to Whakaata Māori, Maria is no newcomer. She came to IDNZ to deepen her product design practice while working full time, studying before and after work and booking mentors as often as she needed, during the week and on weekends. The sessions were grounded in real UX and UI practice and gave her a sharper sense of what separates a product designer from a UX designer. After 7+ years at Whakaata Māori leading design on content-heavy platforms and design systems, that distinction matters.
“The flexibility to book a mentor as many times during the week — and sometimes on weekends — accelerated my learning to new levels. The real-world mentoring made this course invaluable in learning what it takes to be a product designer over a UX designer.”
Career outcome figure from IDNZ’s graduate survey.
Why now · AI skills in New Zealand
New Zealand’s AI skills gap is real. Here’s the evidence.
New Zealand job ads ask for AI skills far more often than they did a year ago, yet most people here still haven’t had any AI training. Six numbers from 2025 and 2026 research, each linked to its source.
Marketing leaders
42%of senior marketing leaders rate their team as ready to deliver their AI strategy.
Yet 64% say they’re highly confident of hitting their AI goals.
Our most popular course is the Certified Agile Digital Marketing Expert (CADME): 11 weeks of SEO, paid media, content, email, analytics and AI, with weekly one-to-one mentoring. It’s $4,789 + GST, and eligible NZ businesses can have up to 50% covered through MCDF funding.
Figures checked on 16 October 2026. The TransUnion and CIM figures come from overseas marketing surveys; the rest are New Zealand data. Compiled by the Institute of Digital Marketing New Zealand (IDNZ). Free to reuse with a credit and link to id.ac.nz (CC BY 4.0).
The method behind every IDNZ certification
Agile digital marketing.
Agile marketing is a way of running marketing in short sprints, usually one to four weeks long. You set one measurable goal, launch a small version of the work quickly, check the results and adjust before the next sprint. The whole budget isn’t locked into a 12-month plan. The approach comes from agile software development, and it’s how you’ll work in the Certified Agile Digital Marketing Expert (CADME).
One sprint
01Plan
02Build
03Launch
04Measure
05Review
Repeat with what you learned
01
Adaptive strategy
Plan in short sprints and keep the long-term goal fixed. When a competitor launches, an algorithm changes or a campaign stalls, you change course at the next sprint, not at next year’s budget round.
02
Collaborative teams
Marketing, sales, design and the business owner work from one shared list of priorities and catch up in short stand-ups. Questions get answered in the room, so work doesn’t sit waiting for sign-off.
03
Customer-centric focus
Each sprint starts from what customers actually do: the words they search, what they say in reviews and on sales calls. Work is written as user stories, so every task is tied to a real need.
04
Continuous improvement
Every sprint ends with two short meetings. A review looks at what shipped and how it performed. A retrospective looks at how the team worked. You keep what worked, drop what didn’t and take one improvement into the next sprint. Small gains every fortnight add up over a year.
In practiceYour email open rate dips, so next sprint you test two subject lines and keep the winner.
05
Data-driven decisions
Give each sprint one number to move, such as cost per lead or booking enquiries, and track it in GA4 and your ad platforms. The data settles the debate, not the loudest opinion in the room.
06
Rapid iteration
Launch a small first version in days: two ad variations, one landing page or a short email test. Read the results, scale the winner and cut the rest before the big spend goes out.
07
Transparency and alignment
A shared board in Trello, Asana or Jira, or simply on a wall, shows what’s planned, in progress and done. Managers and clients can see progress on any day of the week without asking for a report, and every task traces back to a business goal.
In practiceA client checks the board on Wednesday, sees the new landing page is in review and leaves feedback the same day.
08
Better return on spend
Budget follows evidence. Each sprint, money moves towards the channels and messages that are converting and away from the ones that aren’t, so less is wasted on campaigns that were never going to work.
09
Scalable growth
The same sprint rhythm works for a sole trader doing their own marketing and for a team of fifty. Start with one channel and one goal, then add people, channels and markets as you grow, using a process you already trust.
In practiceA café owner runs one-week sprints on Instagram and Google Business Profile, then adds a part-time marketer who picks up the same board.
Learn agile marketing by doing it.
In CADME you run every module as a sprint on real work, or on your own business, with unlimited one-to-one mentoring from NZ-based practitioners. 11 modules in 11 weeks, then a real internship.
It depends on what you need. Business owners who want one skill quickly usually start with a one-day masterclass, such as Google Ads, SEO or social media. If you want to cover all of digital marketing or change career, start with the Certified Agile Digital Marketing Expert (CADME), IDNZ’s most popular certification. If you already know your area, choose a specialist certification in social media, search marketing or digital strategy. If you want to move into UX design, start with the 5-week Agile UX Design JumpStart. Not sure? Book a free 15-minute call and a mentor will point you to the right course.
What’s the difference between a one-day masterclass and an 11-week certification?
A one-day masterclass teaches one skill, such as Google Ads or Google Analytics, so you can use it the next day. An 11-week certification covers a whole discipline one module a week, with unlimited one-to-one mentoring, coaching in business, branding and advertising, and a real internship. You finish with an IDNZ certification and work experience.
Do I get real work experience?
Yes. Every 11-week certification includes a real internship in digital marketing or UX product design, where you apply what you’ve learned to real campaigns and problems. You can add the work to your CV and portfolio. Business owners can also use their own business as the case study all the way through.
What tools and platforms will I learn?
You learn the platforms New Zealand marketers use day to day, including Google Ads, Google Analytics (GA4), Meta Ads, SEO tools and AI tools for research, content and analysis. You use them on real campaigns, or on your own business, with a mentor checking your work. The UX Product Design Expert certification also covers AI agentic design.
How much do IDNZ courses cost?
One-day masterclasses start from $489. Each 11-week certification is $4,789 + GST, and that price is locked in for 2026 and 2027. The 5-week Agile UX Design JumpStart is $2,597 + GST. Team training is quoted per team.
Can I get funding for digital marketing training in New Zealand?
Eligible New Zealand businesses can have up to 50% of the cost covered through MCDF (Management Capability Development Fund) funding, on masterclasses and certifications. You can also spread the cost interest-free over up to 12 months with Splitit. Book a free call and we’ll help you work out what you’re eligible for.
Do I need a marketing background to start?
No. CADME’s first module is an introduction to agile digital marketing, and your mentor works from wherever you’re starting. IDNZ graduates have come from all kinds of backgrounds, including hospitality, retail and design, and business owners use their own business as the case study.
Are IDNZ courses online or in person?
One-day masterclasses run online, or in person in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown, Hamilton and Tauranga. The 11-week certifications run online with one-to-one mentoring, so you can study from anywhere in New Zealand while you keep working.
Can IDNZ train my whole team?
Yes. IDNZ runs masterclasses and certifications for teams and organisations, built around your own brand, channels and campaigns, including digital, AI and communications training for the public sector. Team training is quoted per team.
What jobs can I get with an IDNZ certification?
Graduates work in roles such as digital marketing specialist, social media specialist, search marketing specialist, content producer, digital campaign manager and UX designer, or use their skills to grow their own business. In IDNZ’s graduate survey, 86% of graduates advanced their career within 12 months of certification. IDNZ’s comparison page lists New Zealand and Australian salary ranges for each role.
Who teaches at IDNZ?
IDNZ’s tutors and mentors are New Zealand-based practitioners who work in digital marketing, branding and UX, including Sai Constantine, Head of Digital, and UX mentor Seann Lautner. They mentor students one to one and review their real work.
How AI changed marketing in 2026. Twenty numbers, all sourced.
AI search, marketing teams, New Zealand businesses, UX and social commerce. We checked every figure in October 2026, and each card links to the research it comes from.
AI search01
1Bpeople use ChatGPT every week, as of August 2026.
For a lot of buyers, a chatbot is now the first place they ask, before Google or your website.
Figures checked on 16 October 2026. They are worldwide or US data unless the card says New Zealand, and dollar amounts are US dollars. Compiled by the Institute of Digital Marketing New Zealand (IDNZ). Free to reuse with a credit and link to id.ac.nz (CC BY 4.0).
Harrison MudgwayNew Zealand MTB National
Ying WatsonStakeholder Manager
Rohan SatghareRetail Sales & Operation
Irene FortoulUX/UI and Graphic Designer
Immediate
Personal
Current
Hands-on
Flexible
Ongoing
Teams
Post-graduation supportGraduate story
Graduate story
Masterclass review
Graduate story
Graduate story
Marketing leaders
NZ job ads
Training
Hiring
Skills plans
Next three years
